In central locations of three major Asian cities -- Singapore, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City -- stand bronze elephant statues. If they could talk, these statues could tell of imperialism, civil war, invasion, anti-colonial struggle, independence, nationhood, and more recently of rapid urban and economic development. Perched high up on their plinths, the elephants have witnessed some of the key events in the modernisation and emancipation of Southeast Asia, with all its promises and bloodshed. All three statues were gifts made by Thai kings.
The elephant statues in Singapore and Batavia (present-day Jakarta) were erected exactly 150 years ago, in 1872, while the statue in Saigon (present-day Ho Chi Minh City) was inaugurated in 1936. The two older statues were gifted by King Chulalongkorn to commemorate his visits in 1871, while the statue in Saigon was gifted by his youngest son, King Prajadhipok, after he visited French Indochina in 1930.
